Ashes To Ashes
by Bookwrm389
Summary: "There is no trial for Moonblood sympathizers. There is only the sentence." Major late-game spoilers, strong hints of Dust/Haley.
_A.N. After watching countless Let's Plays over the course of two years and finally buying and beating the game for myself as a birthday present, I've got to say...it's just as amazing the twentieth time through as it was the very first time. Never before have anthro characters in an indie game been so complex and morally challenged and beautifully flawed in a story that touches on just about every emotion in the spectrum, from the ugly sides of war and intolerance to the more positive themes of compassion and mercy and hope in the face of tragedy...not to mention all the fun we had with stupid hats and Fidget dolls. This game hooked me for reasons I can't explain and it NEEDS more stories than the mere handful I've found so far._

 _So...I do expect to be playing in this fandom again on occasion, though I hope next time I can focus on something a little more lighthearted and a little less...blegh, sadface, heartbreak :'(_

Ashes To Ashes

All was quiet that night in Archer's Pass. The crisp air was tranquil and still, unbroken by the chirps of bugs and the rustles of scavenging monsters. For once there were no clouds in the sky, no pattering rain or distant rolling thunder. And far in the distance at the top of a massive cliff there was no flickering light from the forge and no rhythmic bell-like peal of metal striking metal, the cheerful noises of two young blacksmiths working late into the evening. That was the most noticeable absence and perhaps the most troubling. It was the kind of unnatural hush one might expect to find in a graveyard. Disturbing. Ethereal. Lifeless.

A noiseless flash of light illuminated the stone monument at the base of the cliff, casting a ghostly blue light on the rocks, and from nowhere materialized a group of half a dozen figures, weapons raised and armor gleaming in the moonlight. None spoke a word, but the leader signaled his comrades to scatter into the darkness and scout the immediate area. All except for one. A man wielding a single blade and garbed in assassin's clothing, who strode in the direction of the Resonance Gate and the shortcut which he knew lay beyond.

One of the warriors hissed and doubled back. "Wait, Mithrarin! There could be soldiers here. We must wait until the others finish their reconnaissance."

Dust paused, frustration nearly making him snap at the Moonblood warrior, but he forced himself to breathe and calm down. They had accompanied him for a reason. General Gaius had scouts of his own combing these lands, scouring under ever rock and tree, all in search of him. To let himself be captured or cut down at this crucial time would be extremely foolhardy, and it was the sole reason Dust had agreed to the protective escort...for their peace of mind more than his own. But now, looking upward in the direction of the forge and seized by a terrible foreboding, he could almost be grateful for the reinforcements.

A muted flapping by his ear brought Fidget into his line of sight. "It's okay, Dust. We made it in time! Look, see? They're probably both still up there, fast asleep and perfectly fine. We'll go wake them up and get them someplace safe and...and everything will be okay. Right, Ahrah? Won't it be alright this time?"

Ahrah glowed very softly. "I..."

"Hm?"

"...I do not sense any life up there."

Dust stiffened at the same time as Fidget stammered. "Wha...no, you're wrong! You have to be!"

"Mithrarin!" the Moonblood warrior said in agitation when Dust moved to the Resonance Gate again.

"Stay here," Dust told him. And he tried not to be disturbed at how easily the tone of command came to his words. "I'll go on ahead and...I'll return shortly. Please guard the Resonance Gate and wait for me here."

"But...are you sure...?"

Dust finally tore his eyes from the distant forge. "As Ahrah said. There is no life up there."

The Moonblood hesitated, but nodded in acceptance, and Dust wasted no further time. Straight ahead through the Resonance Gate, then into the warp, and within moments he stood near the summit with the valley spread out before him. He could no longer see the stone monument or the Moonbloods on their reconnaissance, but when he turned in the other direction he had far more important things to preoccupy him. The steep uphill path to the forge had been traveled recently, the foliage trampled and some offending branches chopped or bent aside. There was explosive residue as well from the hordes of Blombs that tended to flock to this area. It always took them a few days to return to a place where their kind had been slain. A few _days_.

"I-I'm sure it's not what it looks like," Fidget said, keeping pace with Dust as he cautiously hiked upward. "Maybe they had another customer come through?"

"Yeah," Dust muttered and knelt briefly to study the footprints in the dirt. Very reminiscent of the boot prints those soldiers in the mountains had left behind in the snow. "A lot of customers. Armored customers and very determined to reach the top at some speed."

"Well, you know...those 'buy one, get one' sales can get pretty cutthroat sometimes..."

"Fidget," Ahrah said in gentle admonishment. Fidget shut her mouth with a quiet _meep_. Probably regretting her unfortunate use of the word cutthroat. But Dust didn't care. Fidget could both make all the tactless and terribly worded jokes she wanted, if only they walked away from this place with two extra members in their party. If only they could reach their destination and find everything exactly as it should be. The forge burning brightly and stinging his nose with the scent of scorched wood and smelted ore. The weapons and armor neatly stored in their racks, the remains of a quick lunch spread over the worktables. The chatter, the laughter, the grumbling. The two faces turning to greet him, one scowling and the other smiling...

 _Ah, my favorite customer! What can I do for you?_

"Maybe...maybe they got away in time?" Fidget suggested. "You know, from way up here, they could see anybody coming to the forge from miles away. They could've packed up and run for it."

"We can only..." Dust began as he reached level ground at the main entrance to the forge and stepped inside. And the word _hope_ died on his lips. Though it was very dark within, the Ring of Sight on his hand afforded them some light to see by. But he wished he didn't have to see this.

"What... _happened?_ " Fidget squeaked. She swooped past Dust and flew a quick circle of the outer work area, a habit of hers that normally ended with her perched on one of the worktables or the storage crates stacked against the far wall. But the tables had all been heaved on their sides or overturned, the crates smashed open and ransacked, their contents of scrap metal and precious gems and other materials strewn in the dirt and trampled on by careless feet. Dust sidestepped a weapons rack that had fallen sideways, now empty as all the swords and axes and other weapons had vanished. Most of the armor was missing as well, along with the matching pendants and augments...and what few pieces remained had been systematically destroyed so that no one could make use of it. So many years' worth of labor and dedication, an entire arsenal lovingly crafted and maintained by generations of blacksmiths, a virtual treasure hoard whose value depended greatly on the beholder. And now all of it was gone.

"Is anybody hooome?" Fidget called and was answered by echoes. Flying ahead to the small abode carved from the stone of the cliff, she vanished within, still crying out in a piercing voice. "Haleeeeey? _Maaattiiiiiiii?_ "

"They're not here, Fidget," Dust said, though she couldn't have heard him. He turned slowly on the spot, staring helplessly at the devastation, and drew a sharp breath when he caught sight of the forge. The ancient hearth held nothing but ashes and there was evidence that someone had taken a hammer to it, deep cracks spider-webbing across the stone and rendering it useless. Perhaps beyond repair. Dust leaned Ahrah up against the forge and brushed his fingertips to the largest fissure, a shudder racing through him. Haley loved this forge. The first time they met she had proudly expounded on its remarkable history and her family's connection to that heritage, her enthusiasm so enthralling that he had found himself drawn into the narration and failed to notice the hours slipping by...

 _Oh geez, the sun's going down! You'd better get a move on if you want to get back to Aurora before dark. But listen, Dust, don't be a stranger! Remember you can come and visit anytime you like._

 _...grrr..._

 _And don't pay attention to Grumpy Matti over there. Trust me, he's just as glad for the company as I am..._

"I am so sorry, Master," Ahrah murmured.

Dust shook his head. "I should have seen this coming. Even before we heard about Aurora…"

"You could not have known."

"I _should_ have known!" Dust hissed, silently raging at his own carelessness. He knew very well what his enemy was capable of. He had seen with his own eyes evidence of the general's wrongdoing and callous disregard for the value of innocent life. He knew Gaius could be vindictive and brutal in his methods, often to the point of cruelty, utterly relentless in his genocidal campaign. There was no excuse for failing to predict what might happen when he realized the man once known as Cassius had been lost to the Moonbloods once and for all.

They had been lucky with Aurora. Very, very lucky. Sereth had been keeping track of the movements of Gaius' troops in addition to Dust, and he had been the first to notice a large contingent making its way south through the wildlands in a beeline for the quaint little village. Rather than report to the Elder, Sereth had first taken the warning straight to his friend in the business. Mordecai had then gone to Mayor Bram, who thankfully grasped the implications and acted quickly to evacuate the village. They took shelter belowground with the Mudpots, who had been surprised but pleased to accommodate friends of Dust, then sealed off the shortcut behind them. Any soldier or assassin looking for the residents of Aurora would be forced to take the long way, trekking through miles of underground caverns flooded with monsters and poisonous mushrooms and deadly pitfalls, all of which Dust himself had barely survived. No sane man would attempt it for any amount of money or loyalty.

Dust had received word of the exodus only long after it happened. Not two hours ago, in fact, he had been in the Everdawn Basin discussing war preparations with the Elder when they were interrupted by a breathless messenger, and Dust had experienced a rapid switch from panic to relief to sudden gut-wrenching fear for his friends. It hadn't occurred to him, not once, that they might be in danger...because of him. That their collective decision to help him in their own small ways, whether with food or money or just a friendly word of advice, could be misconstrued as lending aid to the Moonbloods and therefore brand them all as traitors. It made sense in a backwards kind of way, though Dust couldn't imagine what sort of threat the general might see in people like Geehan and Oneida or Bean and Calum. Gianni and Avgustin and Fale. Moska and Sarahi and Reed. Colleen and Corbin.

But at least he had known they were safe. They had fled, some more unwillingly than others, but Mayor Bram's insistence and Sarahi's tearful pleading had worked wonders in tandem, until even huffy ill-tempered Gianni had no choice but to pack his bags and go. The only one unaccounted for was Cora, but as she was currently in the Sorrowing Meadow under the protection of Kane's spiritual power, Dust hadn't worried for her and let his heart be at ease.

That sense of relief lasted all of ten seconds before Fidget turned to him and said _, But wait...Dust, what about Haley?_

"...I should have known," Dust repeated. Of all people, Haley and her brother had lent him the most help on his journey. All those blueprints, all those sets of armor, some of which he was wearing even now. He glanced at the ring on his other hand—crafted by Haley, imbued with the most powerful enchantments and fashioned in the style of a wedding ring. He had blushed horrendously and dropped it like a bomb fruit when she handed it to him, which had caused Haley to burst out laughing and nearly fall out of her chair. Even Matti had cracked a smile at his expense, apparently taking great pride in his sister's evil sense of humor.

 _Come on, lighten up! Just a little something to, you know, REMEMBER me by when you're out there on your grand adventures..._

 _As if I could forget,_ Dust had retorted and couldn't resist tacking on the _demon blacksmith_ under his breath. Haley had just laughed again, served him up a second helping of lunch and told him that the rest of his armor would be ready by evening. And that...that had been the last time he saw either of them. As he traveled through meadows and mountains, through sun and snow and storms of cinders, he had been in contact with Haley a number of times through the receiver, but now it occurred to Dust that he hadn't heard so much as a burst of static out of that thing for nearly a week.

"Dust...?"

Dust peeked over his shoulder and found Fidget hovering at his shoulder. And his heart panged at what she cradled in her paws. Haley's receiver, the outer casing cracked as if something heavy had stomped on it, the lights barely flickering. Fidget gingerly set the receiver in his hand, and Dust took a moment to study the damage it had sustained. And in a fit of temper he shouted and flung it at the nearest wall, the impact causing the little device to break in half and shatter all the delicate components inside.

"Dust!" Fidget said, shrinking away from him.

"Control yourself, Dust!" Ahrah exclaimed.

"I _can't!_ " Dust roared. Rage blinded him for just a moment, rooted in sorrow and a deeply frightening desire to hurt something, and it was only through sheer effort of will that he forced it back. "I...I can't...how could I let this happen?"

"There may be hope still," Ahrah spoke up. "Although the destruction here is terrible, I do not sense that any blood was spilled."

"Really?" Fidget said, pouncing on that. "Are you sure? Like really, really, _really_ sure?"

"There has been no bloodshed in this place for many hundreds of years."

"So that means...they must've gotten away!" Fidget cried, jubilant. "Did you hear that, Dust? They got away from those stupid soldiers!"

"Or they were taken away," Dust muttered, which instantly killed her celebration mid-cheer. "Even if they did manage to escape at first, the soldiers would have followed, and where could they go? They didn't have any Teleport Stones. No matter where or how far they ran, they would have been caught eventually. And then..."

"And then?"

"...there is no trial for Moonblood sympathizers," Dust breathed, echoing words spoken in another lifetime. "There is only the sentence."

In the grim silence that followed, Fidget gave a horrified whimper. "But they didn't _do_ anything. All they did was make armor and stuff, and it wasn't even for the Moonbloods. They didn't do anything wrong!"

Except this had nothing to do with the Moonbloods, Dust thought with scorn. Gaius had no reason to care about a couple of young blacksmiths...except when those same blacksmiths offered their aid to the prophesied savior of the Moonbloods. And through his own unwitting actions, Dust had made it clear just how much Haley and Matti meant to him. How he cherished _them_ far more than anything they could craft for him. Every transaction, every impromptu visit to the forge, every single _word_ they exchanged over those receivers had only amplified the threat. A chink in his emotional armor that Gaius had taken full advantage of to drive a dagger in his heart.

 _And for what, General? You cannot possibly think this would make me surrender and rejoin your cause, so why? Is this a warning? Or a message? Or...was your only objective to hurt me in ways I couldn't imagine?_

"We've gotta go after them!" Fidget burst out. She soared over to the entrance and waved him on urgently. "If we hurry, maybe we can still catch up in time! Maybe we can save them before...come _on_ , Dust, let's get a move on!"

"No, Fidget," Ahrah said, thankfully speaking up when Dust could not. "We cannot go after them now."

"Yes, we can," Fidget insisted. "We're good at finding people, we do it all the time! There was that time when we found Corbin, and then later we found Sarahi..."

"I understand you feelings Fidget...and yours as well Dust," Ahrah said with compassion. "But we are needed elsewhere. The armies are gathering to the north. Gaius is on the move even as we speak, and at any moment he might strike and unleash his fury upon the last of the Moonbloods."

Fidget fluttered closer to properly glare down at Ahrah. "Yeah well, they're just gonna have to wait their turn! Matti and Haley need our help _right now!_ Who cares about some stupid battle?"

"This battle will not merely decide the fate of the Moonbloods," Ahrah reminded her. "You have seen what Gaius is capable of. His actions have single-handedly eradicated a civilization, shattered many innocent lives and upset the very balance of nature. If he is not slain and his army routed, then he _will_ drive this world to ruin. Would you have Dust abandon that cause, the very purpose of his creation, for such selfish reasons?"

"It's _not_ selfish and _don't talk about Dust like he's not a person!_ " Fidget shrieked, nearly on the verge of hysteria. "All you and everyone else do is talk about what he _has_ to do and nobody ever thinks about what he _wants_ to do!"

"Then let us ask him," Ahrah said calmly. "Dust...what do you wish to do now? Know that whatever you decide, Fidget and I will stand with you."

"He knows what to do," Fidget said, but she didn't seem quite so certain now. "He knows...right, Dust?"

Not this time, Dust wanted to say. This wasn't one of Ahrah's morality tests with a clear-cut right or wrong answer, nor a petty squabble over prudence and poison ivy. There was only the choice itself...and the consequences thereafter. For the first time since his awakening, he desperately wished he wasn't the one in control anymore. He wished someone would take it out of his hands or that some miraculous third path would open and allow him to be everywhere at once. Dust was becoming very acquainted with this excruciating ripped-in-half feeling. It had taken him a long time, but now he recognized it as the two souls within him vying for their voices to be heard. One frantically and selfishly pulling him toward his friends while the other yearned to fulfill his duty and do what was right. Strangely enough, Dust could not have told in that moment which feeling belonged to which soul.

But it didn't matter either way. He already knew what choice he had to make, and it was by far the hardest thing he had ever done. So much that it threatened to bring him to his knees and Dust had to brace his back to the forge, in his mind's eye seeing Haley and Matti captured and taken away in chains with swords at their throats. Seeing them running for their lives through the wilderness with assassins on their trail. Seeing them cut down and left to bleed in some secluded place far from his reach or knowledge. Each envisioning brought on a fresh wave of anguish for their fear, their suffering, their sudden irrevocable absence from his life...and his failure to reach them in time, to shield them from danger as Haley's armor had so often protected him.

"Ahrah is right, Fidget."

"But Dust—!"

"It's too late for Haley and Matti," Dust said and tried not to choke on the words. "Gaius doesn't take prisoners, not for any reason. By now...by now, they're already dead."

"...but we don't _know_ that."

"Don't we?" Dust murmured and knew he didn't need to elaborate. They had both seen plenty of terrible things in this world in their brief time together. Enough to know that sometimes, in spite of all their best efforts, miracles simply didn't happen. Fidget muffled a sob in her paws and drifted to the ground beside Ahrah, her wings folding down and making her seem very small and fragile.

"Time runs short...we should return to the Moonbloods down below," Ahrah said after a moment. When neither of his companions answered, he went on more softly. "Only when you are ready, Dust."

Dust bowed his head in gratitude. "I just…need a minute..."

Fidget started, looking up in surprise. And with a pained noise she flung herself at him and hugged him tight around the neck, clinging hard and nuzzling his cheek as Dust trembled and slowly sank to the ground with his face buried in his hands. Ahrah said nothing, but his aura pulsed once and its comforting warmth slowly expanded to surround and embrace them both, like the sympathetic arms of a friend.

* * *

The Moonbloods were waiting when they descended from the summit, gathered around the stone monument in various attitudes of anxious concern. But they jumped to attention the moment the Resonance Gate opened and Dust walked out. Unharmed, but clearly alone save for Fidget and Ahrah. Sensing the stares upon him, Dust reached up in a habitual motion to be sure his face was hidden by the rim of his hat. The tears had stopped, but the evidence remained and there was no disguising Fidget's quiet hiccups as she tried and failed to compose herself.

One of the Moonbloods cleared his throat and moved closer, worry overcoming the respectful distance he had kept. "Mithrarin...?"

"We're too late," Dust said shortly, in answer to their unspoken questions. "Gaius got here first."

Sharp hisses and a breathless curse followed that declaration, and the Moonblood before him appeared stricken. "Your friends? Are they...?"

"I don't know," Dust admitted. "There were signs of a struggle, but beyond that...I don't know."

"What should we do, Mithrarin?"

Dust paused, taken aback to be asked that question for a second time, and it shattered him that much further to repeat his answer. "There's nothing more to be done here. We go back north to the Everdawn Basin...and we give Gaius a battle he'll never forget. We put an end to this once and for all."

With that dire promise on his lips, he moved past them and stepped up to the stone monument, grateful for the continual hum of magic that grated on his hearing and distracted him from grief. The Moonbloods quietly moved into place for teleportation, and Dust tried to ignore the looks of pity being exchanged behind his back, his comrades at a loss for how to console their Sen-Mithrarin. Fidget alighted heavily his shoulder, for once so withdrawn and miserable that Dust missed her habit of filling up the silence with her silliness. It would be a good long while before either of them could truly laugh again.

The Moonblood who carried the Teleport Stones took one out and held in his palm. "Are we all accounted for? Is everyone ready?"

"I'm ready."

"As am I."

"Yes, sir."

"Ready."

"Actually..."

Dust turned around, as did everyone else, seeing that one of the Moonbloods had not joined them on the monument, lingering just out of range of the ambient magic. Kaedith was his name, Dust recalled, the same Moonblood who had conveyed the message about Aurora and also one of the first to volunteer as part of his escort.

"Kaedith? What's the matter?"

Kaedith glanced over his shoulder, taking in the moonlit valley, and offered them an apologetic smile. "Well, it's just occurred to me...it doesn't seem right, does it? Here we have Dust...pardon, Sen-Mithrarin...willing to risk life and limb for our families, but when it comes to the people _he_ cares about, who's stepping forward to look out for them? I think...no, I've decided. I'm going to stay here and look for those blacksmiths. There must be _some_ trace of where they've gone. I'll find them and protect them with my life. And I'll tear down any soldier who stands in my way, even if it's General Gaius himself!"

A rather bemused silence followed that before another Moonblood snorted and stepped off the monument to stand beside Kaedith. "Well, if _you're_ staying, then I'm staying. Things up north are coming to a head pretty soon, and while I've never been one to run from a fight, I can't say I've ever been much use in one either. Always been better with the scouting and tracking side of things..."

"Oh, heck with it, I'll join you as well," a third Moonblood said cheerfully. "I know these lands quite well. And knowing you two, you'll need someone level-headed to watch your backs."

"I'll come too."

"I believe I could also be of help..."

"Hey, now wait a minute!" the last Moonblood cried, still on the monument beside Dust, and he stamped the butt of his spear. "I'm the leader of this expedition! And need I remind you, we're meant to be escorting Sen-Mithrarin under direct orders from the Elder. Who said you could all just abandon your post like this?"

"You did, Gillian," Kaedith said with a wry quirk of his lips. "Or at least you're _about_ to."

The leader, Gillian, glared at him in mild reproof before a chuckle escaped him. "I'm surrounded by insubordination. Fine. I'll see Mithrarin safely to the encampment, then I'll come back and join you. If I _don't_ return, you can safely assume the Elder has flayed me alive for sanctioning this little mutiny."

"But," Dust said, so stunned that at first he had no idea what to say. "But...these lands are dangerous for you. Any Warmblood who sees you could report it to Gaius' soldiers, and then _you_ would be the ones hunted..."

"We'll stay out of sight," Kaedith said stoutly. "And we'll gladly take the risk. All of us."

"But what about your own families? Surely they need you in the north?"

Kaedith regarded him with a twinge of sadness beneath a brave front. "They will have you, my friend. I can't speak for the others, but my wife will understand. Every night for many years she has been telling our children the tale of Sen-Mithrarin, to keep their spirits up and remind them that better days are ahead...but only if we all do our part in bringing about those days. What kind of father would I be if I went back to them now and told them that we failed you?"

Dust faltered, looking from one Moonblood to another and seeing nothing but a willingness to help on all sides, not to mention a refusal to take no for an answer. For all they knew tomorrow might be the day Gaius wiped out their last encampment and the rest of their race in one fell swoop. This night might be the last chance they had to hold their loved ones and kiss their children goodnight. And yet here they were, miles from those who needed them, putting their lives on the line for two young Warmbloods they had never met. He wanted to protest and demand they all return to the encampment together, but couldn't speak around the lump in his throat, at once touched and besieged by guilt for the very real sacrifice they were offering. In spite of all his kind had done to them...in spite of all that _he_ had done...

"...thank you," Dust said at long last, the only coherent response he could muster. Recalling some manner of custom from another lifetime, he touched a hand to his chest and bowed formally. "Thank you, my friends."

"Thank us later, once we've found your friends," Kaedith told him.

"A moment," Gillian said and quickly stepped down from the monument to offer Kaedith his satchel carrying supplies and most of the Teleport Stones. He also uttered rapid instructions under his breath, most of which sounded like strongly-worded warnings on what would happen if they gallivanted off without him, which his fellow warriors received in good humor. A humor that surely masked the underlying dread of what tomorrow might have in store for them all.

"You know what?" Fidget said in his ear, and when Dust glanced at her, she was beaming as she wiped away her tears. "I take back what I said before. These lizard people are kind of awesome."

"They have great faith in you, Dust," Ahrah remarked.

"And they're going to find Haley and Matti for us!" Fidget exclaimed. "Kind of nice to be the ones _getting_ help for once, not the ones giving it, huh?"

"...yeah," Dust muttered, unable to muster a smile in return, but also reluctant to snatch away the hope shining in her eyes. Much as he ached inside and wished this would change something, his mind kept turning back to what he had seen at the summit, and he couldn't silence that cynical voice in his head, the one that spoke from bitter experience. The stark truth was that no matter how long or hard they searched, Kaedith and the others were unlikely to find anything…except confirmation of what he already knew deep inside. All their efforts would accomplish would be to needlessly drag out the inevitable. Like Ginger had waited in vain for a brother who was never coming home.

But...

"I'm coming back here too," Dust said suddenly. "Once we've defeated Gaius...once all of this is over...I'm coming back."

" _We'll_ come back," Fidget vowed without skipping a beat. "All of us! Wherever you go, me and Ahrah will go too. Right?"

"Yes," Ahrah said and he sounded so certain, so decisive, that even Dust took heart from it. "We will return. One day."

"Ready, Mithrarin?"

Dust nodded without looking at Gillian, who had returned to the monument while the rest of the Moonbloods turned the other way and vanished into the darkness. Kaedith raised his spear in brief farewell, and Dust reminded himself to thank him again the next time they met. Then he raised his eyes to the distant summit, merely a silhouette against the starry sky, and toyed with the ring on his hand as his thoughts drifted to Haley. Ever since that day he dropped in on her—ears ringing and coated in blast residue and quite stunned from an Aerial Dust Storm gone horribly wrong—she had shown him nothing but kindness and easy affection, none of the suspicion or reverence or chilling familiarity that so many others had exhibited. Always welcoming his company no matter how long it had been since his last visit, offering both a safe harbor and a listening ear when certain aspects of his journey left him shaken. She was...had been...a good friend and deserved so much more than he had been able to give.

 _Haley...Matti…wherever you are now, please forgive me. It never should have come to this..._

The Teleport Stone was activated, and the stone monument glowed briefly as the four of them were swept away in a flash of light. Once more Archer's Pass was left desolate, a faint zephyr whistling mournfully across the rocks and causing the grass and trees to sway in the wind.

It would be the last time Sen-Mithrarin ever set foot in that valley.


End file.
